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Desert Winemaking "Sounds Absurd," but Israeli Vineyards in Negev Show the Way
(New York Times) Isabel Kershner - As growers in more established wine-producing areas of Europe and elsewhere in the world battle unpredictable, extreme weather, including scorching heat waves, Israelis have found themselves at the vanguard of dry-weather wine production, testing approaches that might soon find more global application. And the work is being done in the Negev, home to hundreds of technology start-ups and a futuristic solar tower - and long a laboratory for experimentation in Israel. At a Negev cafe, shelves were stacked with bottles of locally produced malbec, merlot, and petit verdot syrah. The boutique winery produces a selection of 5,000 bottles in a good year, and they go for a pricey - by local standards - $27 to $45 a bottle. "Water is very expensive here," Zvi Remak, the local winemaker, said.